Through Future Edge, Capital One works with hundreds of leading community and nonprofit organizations in NYC and beyond, including microfinance and microlending organizations empowering women entrepreneurs such as Accion, Kiva, and Grameen America.

As illuminated in the research, women of all ages, races, and ethnicities are creating jobs, bolstering economies, strengthening families and communities, and providing creative solutions to twenty-first century problems. Fueled by advances in technology and lowered barriers to entry, women throughout the nation are starting and growing new businesses at a remarkable clip—flooding into every industry from construction and manufacturing to healthcare and information.

In an effort to inspire and empower more women across the country, below five successful women entrepreneurs share the unique tips that helped them get ahead.

Lisa Morales-Hellebo—Executive Director and Cofounder of the New York Fashion Tech Lab

Lisa Morales-Hellebo is an entrepreneur, seasoned product strategist, and creative director with a career that spans more than 20 years helping companies, from start-ups to F500s, maximize conversions via multichannel, e-commerce product strategy, development, and brand extension. She recently founded and launched the New York Fashion Tech Lab with Springboard Enterprises and the Partnership Fund for NYC while serving as its executive director for the first year.

Insight: Despite the strides that Lisa and countless others have made, female founders are still fighting the perception that they’re less capable and less committed than their male counterparts according to the Center for an Urban Future report.

Lisa’s Tips for Overcoming Gender Stereotypes:

Always add value, but find your allies at the top who know it: In a true meritocracy, adding value should be enough to get ahead, but politics and gender have a tendency to get in the way of that being the reality. Throughout my career, I have made sure that I am contributing to the bottom line of any business I am working with and have made sure I have a chance to walk the CEO (and/or any other key corporate-level executives) through my contributions. When push comes to shove, most CEOs only see green.

Constantly expand your perspective: Look for and participate in networking groups, events and industry associations that have both male and female members – and whose male members recognize, support and seek out the significant contributions of women. Throughout my career, a male mentor has provided me a unique lens through which to truly see my own potential via his unfiltered feedback and advice. Diversity of thought is always a good thing, from boardrooms to personal sounding boards.

Build your own "good old girls" network: This may seem counterintuitive to number 2 (above), but it really just refers to making sure that you support other equally impressive women, even when it doesn't directly benefit you. The rising tide raises all ships and we owe it to each other to help others recognize the best and brightest among us. Recommend others for panels, jobs, consulting work, investments, or partnerships, not because we are women, but because we are major contributors, and more people should know it.

Pick your battles: It may feel momentarily great to be able to shoot back a quick comeback when an investor asks if it is "bring your daughter to work day," but the best reaction is to not react and to crush your pitch. Every relationship is a two-way street and it is up to you to choose whether or not you want to partner with someone who starts the relationship on that note. It is not your job to change someone's bad behavior, but it is your choice to walk away and choose to work with people who see you as an equal.

Speak up: Once you have a seat at the table, you need to contribute and speak with authority. Words have power and you can subconsciously be self-sabotaging through the words you choose. Learn to remove any words or phrases that are unnecessary in communicating your message such as "just,” "actually," or "this may be a silly question, but." State your message clearly, concisely, and authoritatively.

Deepti Sharma Kapur—Founder of FoodtoEat.com

Deepti Sharma Kapur is the CEO and Founder of FoodtoEat.com, an online marketplace where local businesses can order team meals from the best local restaurants, food trucks and caterers. Her goal is to help businesses feed employees great food and build stronger work cultures, while also helping local mom & pop food vendors -many of whom are immigrants - use technology to build sustainable catering businesses. For this work, she was honored in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2013. Deepti is extremely active in her community and serves as a board member for both The Business Center for New Americans and The Learning About Multimedia Project, non-profit organizations that work with immigrant business owners and children, respectively. Most recently, she cofounded the Mountaintop Program, an initiative that brings innovators and entrepreneurs into New York City schools to mentor and inspire K-12 students.

Insight: Women entrepreneurs are more likely than men to start businesses that have a social impact.

Deepti’s Tips for Building a Mission-Oriented Business:

Be impactful: Talk to the people whose lives will be impacted by your potential solution. Instead of just figuring out a solution to a problem, and trying to work through that, talk to people. I had an idea for online ordering with food trucks. This idea didn’t include a layer of social impact until I actually had conversations with the food truck owners and understood the challenges they face.

Combine your passion with your higher purpose: Your business, for better or worse, is going to be a major focus of your life. When I started mine, I wasn’t just passionate about being an entrepreneur; I was also passionate about helping small business owners, many who are immigrants and women. Always make sure you have that "higher purpose" to not only drive you but sustain you, even when you feel like you've reached a level of success.

Hire believers: Make sure you have team members who buy into the business’s mission just as much as you do, and empower them to be correspondents of this mission. This will provide them with a sense of ownership, in addition to being employees.

Be receptive: As hard as it may be, learn to surround yourself with your critics, and be open to their feedback. This will enable you to view your approach through the eyes of others, in addition to your own.

Have a clear mission: This is simple and may seem obvious, but is actually very difficult to do: always make sure your mission is clearly defined. Your mission is who you are when you go out to pitch the business or describe it to others. You need to be able to sum up what you do and why it's important in simple and persuasive language that resonates with others. Don't try to be everything to everyone. Understand what your core goal is, and build your narrative and supporters around that.

Taly Russell—Founder and Managing Partner, SilverChair Partners

Chantal “Taly” Russell is the CEO and founder of SilverChair Partners, the “Ivy League” for the most selective firms and individuals seeking a new assistant. She is known as one of the leaders in administrative and HR search recruiting in the U.S. Russell is actively involved in a number of different philanthropies, including Baby Buggy, Lung Cancer Research Foundation, and the Robin Hood Foundation.

Insight: Between 2007 and 2012, women-owned administrative firms in New York City grew by 61.7 percent compared to their male counterparts, which only grew by 6.3 percent.

Taly’s Top Tips for Harnessing the Power of Women Talent:

Instill the right mindset and basic principles from the start: When you manage a team or a group, it’s critical to set and maintain its tone. It’s better to talk with people than at people, and a two-way communication system is an easy solve for this. Women should know that their voices are heard, acknowledged, and appreciated. At the same time, it is equally important for those voices to be used in a positive and constructive way, and a positive two-way communication system will help foster such collaborative and helpful contributions.

Keep it positive, keep it real, and keep it clean: It’s important to be heard and equally important to be listened to. And at the same time, it’s easy to slip into a heavy, negative space where open conversation is common in an office—this is often how coworkers and women bond. The key is to keep that conversation positive or neutral, no matter the subject matter. Negativity has a way of spreading quickly and no one benefits by engaging in it.

Build each other up: Motivate and guide one another, but avoid the “helicoptering” effect. Give instruction, give feedback, but then loosen up and let the person run with it. By empowering women to “manage up” and take control when appropriate, we show them that we trust them enough to figure things out and get them done.

Invest in the women talent around us: This can’t end with securing talent. Women need to feel supported even as their careers evolve and goals change. Especially with the increased voice of Millennial women, focusing on women talent is more important than ever. Therefore, the focus must be on fostering a supportive environment, a balanced life, and a truly motivating team.

Find a mentor: Seeking out mentors early in your career is an absolute MUST. Utilize the talent and great minds around you. Constantly put yourself out there: meet people, collect contacts, and build relationships.

Jalak Jobanputra—Founder/Managing Partner, Future\Perfect Ventures

Jalak Jobanputra is the founding partner of Future\Perfect Ventures, an early stage venture capital fund in New York City, which has been an early investor in frontier technology such as blockchain and machine learning. In addition to her more than 20 years of experience in venture capital, impact investing, media and technology, Jobanputra is also active in supporting education reform and social entrepreneurship globally. She is on the Advisory Board of L'Oreal's Women in Tech initiative, Founding Advisory Board Member of Astia NYC, on the NYC Mayor's Broadband Taskforce, and served on Secretary Hillary Clinton's Women's Access to Capital Committee at the State Department.

Insight: Only seven percent of all venture capital funding goes to women-owned businesses on a national level, and less than a third of venture capital firms in the United States employ any women funders at all, with only 4% of venture capital firms having a senior female investment partner.

Jalak’s Tips for Raising Capital:

Think big: If you are pitching to a venture capital fund, know that the fund has its own investors to return capital to, and they are looking for investments that can return at least 10 times on capital. If you are going the venture-funding route, make sure you have a business plan that aligns with these expectations.

Know your market (including partners and competitors): While you may be heads-down building product, venture capitalists see hundreds of business plans a year. Make sure you understand how your product fits into the overall market landscape.

Seek out “smart money”: While in the early days it may feel good to just get cash in the bank, all money is not equal. Look for investors who understand your sector, and are aligned with goals for your company. Well-networked investors can serve as recruiters, sounding boards, and business development extensions —all helpful in raising your next round of capital.

Show confidence: Be ready to explain why you and your team are the best equipped to solve the problem you're solving.

Know your numbers: Even if it's too early for a full business plan, have a good hypothesis of who your target market is, how you will find customers, and how you will generate revenue and eventually reach profitability at scale.

Andrea Jung—President and CEO of Grameen America

Andrea Jung is the president and CEO of Grameen America, the fastest growing non-profit microfinance organization, where she is helping to scale the organization to solve economic issues for women and their families across the country. Grameen America has empowered over 64,000 low-income women across the country with access to small loans, credit- and asset-building services. Previously, she served as the chairman and CEO of Avon Products, Inc. Throughout her professional career, Jung has consistently ranked among the top leaders on lists like Forbes’ “Most Powerful Women in the World”.

Insight: Women entrepreneurs are more likely than men to start businesses that have social impact.

Andrea’s Tips for Leveraging Capital for Community Betterment:

Invest in women: This is more than just good business; investing in women entrepreneurs and business owners has a multiplier effect on families and communities that creates opportunity and sustainable impact. When women increase their household income, their children enjoy greater education and health care, their communities benefit from job creation, and the women entrepreneurs become engines of growth in their local economies. There is a real gap in access to credit for women entrepreneurs, who receive only 4% of the total dollar amount of small business loans even though they account for 30% of small businesses in the U.S. Bridging this gap must be a crucial area of focus for those looking to make a dent in inequality and empower underserved communities.

Start small: Nearly a decade after the recession, there is a persistent lack of job creation in the poorest communities. To overcome this, Grameen America is expanding access to capital for women-owned micro- and small businesses. According to the Association for Enterprise Opportunity, if one in three microbusinesses hired just one worker, we could end unemployment in the U.S. By focusing on microbusinesses, we can address the serious credit barriers facing these business-owners and fuel job creation where it is needed most.

Look beyond capital: While access to capital is critical for women entrepreneurs, this is just one piece of the puzzle. Across the microfinance industry, there has been increasing acknowledgment that access to capital must be coupled with credit- and asset-building in order to holistically promote financial inclusion and business growth. At Grameen America, we regularly report our members’ repayments to help them build credit, and open free savings accounts with commercial bank partners to encourage them to develop a habit of saving.

Don’t underestimate the importance of a peer support network: Entrepreneurship can be extremely lonely. This is particularly challenging among women of color and low-income women. Building a peer support network is critical to staying motivated and sharing information and resources. Grameen America’s high-touch group lending model means that we are meeting with our members on a weekly basis and helping them build those relationships that will support them through those tough moments, and celebrate their successes.

Help entrepreneurs take advantage of cutting-edge technology: In the rapidly changing landscape of financial technology, investments in community betterment must empower women entrepreneurs and their businesses to be at the forefront of these new innovative solutions. Integrating our members into the digital banking world and empowering them to take advantage of these tools is a top priority for Grameen America.